Click to Read More Here: Brandon Lipps, administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service at USDA, said the idea was partially inspired by rapidly changing models for how people get their groceries. The USDA last year launched a pilot program that allows SNAP recipients to order provisions online using their EBT, or Electronic Benefit Transfer, cards, which function like debit cards but can only be used to purchase groceries.He said in an interview that it was designed to streamline the process of getting healthy food into the hands of those who need it most. State administrators, he said, would be responsible for figuring out how to package and distribute the boxes themselves.But SNAP administrators say the proposal is riddled with holes.Bhanot had a broad list of questions, ranging from delivery of the boxes, especially during hurricanes, to ensuring that recipients were getting the right type of nutrition. "We'd have to ramp up staff. Where will the money come from?" he asked.In Minnesota, Chuck Johnson, acting commissioner of the Department of Human Services, called the proposal "a significant step backward in our nation's effort to ensure all Americans have access to nutritious food." He said it would be a major burden on states, which would have to figure out how to deliver the food boxes.Tom Hedderman, director of food and nutrition policy at the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, said there are about 1.25 million SNAP recipients in his state who get more than $90 in benefits each month — the threshold that would trigger a food box. He criticized the proposal for its lack of detail and direction.